NEW YORK (AP) – Security concerns raised by the NYPD forced a movie production company to start its first day of shooting Saturday without rapper Busta Rhymes, who angered police last year with his refusal to cooperate in a murder investigation.

Mr. Rhymes is a cast member in “Order of Redemption,” a film which began shooting on 48th Street off Madison Avenue without the rapper on the set. Julianne Cho, associate commissioner with the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre & Broadcasting, confirmed the shooting had started – and that Mr. Rhymes was absent.

“The production agreed that Busta Rhymes would not be participating in the scenes shot here after the Police Department raised public safety concerns,” Cho said in a statement. The Police Department declined to detail its specific concerns about Mr. Rhymes, referring calls to the mayor’s office.

The crime drama, starring Academy Award nominee Tom Berenger, was shooting scenes in New York City on 14 non-consecutive days into early April. Ms. Cho said the production had the necessary permits, and was receiving the usual support from the police.

“This is tremendously unfair to Busta, who has been nothing but professional during this project,” director Jeff Celentano said in a statement released through his publicist. “This is a bigger loss for the city of New York.”

The 34-year-old rapper, whose real name is Trevor Smith, angered law enforcement officials by refusing to cooperate with a probe into the February 2006 slaying of his bodyguard, Israel Ramirez. The fatal shooting outside a Brooklyn recording studio occurred during filming of a music video; no arrests were ever made.

The rap star was briefly jailed last month after police stopped his car for running a red light and discovered Rhymes was driving with a suspended license. It was his latest run-in with law enforcement in the last year.

In January 2007, he was arrested for beating his former driver on Dec. 26 in a dispute over money – his second assault charge since August. He was also ticketed for talking on a cell phone while driving, and sued in March 2006 by a fan who claims Rhymes and a bodyguard beat him over an autograph request.

Mr. Rhymes’ attorney, Scott Leemon, said several months ago that Rhymes’ arrest in August was “payback by the NYPD.” Mr. Leemon did not return a message left Saturday for comment.

Mr. Rhymes, whose previous movie roles include an appearance in the 2000 remake of “Shaft,” is best known for hits like “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See” and “Dangerous” in a career that spans more than a decade.